Chile's Valdivia could be fit for next match

Chile player Rodrigo Millar is confident teammate Jorge Valdivia will be fit to face Switzerland on Monday in the World Cup.

The Associated Press · June 18, 2010

Chile player Rodrigo Millar is confident teammate Jorge Valdivia will be fit to face Switzerland on Monday in the World Cup.

Valdivia came off in the 87th minute of the Honduras match Wednesday with a dead right leg, but squad spokesman Claudio Olmedo denied reports that Valdivia had torn a muscle.

Millar says Valdivia "trained apart from the other players" but they didn't see anything suggesting "he'll be out of the next game."

Chile and Switzerland lead Group H with three points each, while Spain and Honduras have zero.

Valdivia warmed up and jogged gently around the pitch apart from the other players during the training session at the squad's Ingwenyama training base, near Nelspruit, on Friday.

The rest of the players ran at a higher pace, including doing sprints, before exercises to work on the players' ball skills.

The squad looked relaxed and broke into laughter at several points when players let the ball touch the ground during juggling drills.

Humberto Suazo, top scorer during the South American qualifiers, was fully involved in the session.

Suazo has been bothered by a left thigh injury sustained during a pre-World Cup friendly against Israel, and was left out of the opening win against Honduras because of a lack of match fitness.

Chile has been praised for its attacking flair, and Millar said the team would stick to that style despite the pressure increasing before the Switzerland game.

"This team is not going to change the way it plays very much," he said. "We know we've got to close down space because Switzerland beat Spain despite having very little of the ball.

"It's also clear that we've got to have more mobility than the Spanish team in order to create space and open up a very tight defence."

Chile defender Gary Medel said Switzerland's surprise win against Spain gave Chile the chance to top the group.

That could be important if Brazil, as expected, top Group G. The winner of Brazil's group plays the runner-up in Chile's group — so finishing in first place would probably avoid a tough meeting with Dunga's team in the last 16.

"We didn't think Switzerland would beat Spain. Now, we play the Swiss next and we've got the chance to finish first in the group, depending on how the other match goes," Medel said.

Chile's victory has also enthused a nation that experienced a devastating earthquake earlier this year.

"It's very difficult to describe in words how it feels to play in a World Cup and sing the national anthem," Millar said. "Many things go through your head, things like your family and how hard you've worked to get here.

"You also think about the people who are still suffering from the earthquake," he added. "Hopefully we can keep giving some joy back even if it's only a small thing because we know people can find solace in football."